The Right Thing To Do
by Belle Goode
Summary: Trying to uncover truth about a murder, Horatio and Calleigh are thrown for a loop when a young woman steps in front of a gun, to save one CSI's life. Rating M because of subject content. Hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I do not own CSI Miami or any of it's characters, affiliates...etc. This is just my imagination running with it! I hope you all enjoy!**

**Chapter 1**

_**I Knew He Wouldn't Shoot**_

Calleigh stared down the barrel of the gun, wide eyed. "I don't want any trouble. I was just trying to process a murder scene."

A girl stopped by, hearing something outside of the house. She walked through the drapes and saw what was happening, and walked into the living room where they were standing.

"Franky you idiot! What in the hell are you doing?"

"They're here about Joe."

"Okay. So? Don't you wanna find out what happened to him?"

"Well yeah, but...get out of the way Ricki!"

"It's not gonna happen." and she took another step to the left, standing now, between the gun, and the blond woman with the badge. Then she stared at the gun itself. "You stole her gun? Jeez you really are thick aren't you!" and she grabbed the gun from him in one quick movement, turned and gave it back to the cop, butt first.

"I wasn't gonna use it!"

"Yeah well you're sure not going to now!" and she turned back around to face him. "You better do every damn thing she says too! I can't believe you'd pull a gun on a cop!" then she smacked him across the side of his head. "Dumb ass!"

Turning back around once more, she looked at the woman who had now better gained her composure. "Sorry. Are you okay?"

She nodded. The girl had medium length, dirty blond hair and eyes that were almost slate gray. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

Sticking her hand out, she shook it. "Ricki Vernon. That idiot there is Frank Byers and the guy that lives here is Joe Smith." then she laughed at her look of disbelief. "I know right, it's hard to get any less original than that, but that's all we knew him as."

A tall red head walked back into the house, gun pulled. "Hands up!" and she immediately turned to face him, putting her hands up. "Calleigh, are you alright?"

She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, and nodded. "Actually, I am, thanks to this one here."

Horatio put his gun back in it's holster. "Well thank you ma'am."

Ricki shrugged. "Eh. All I did was stopped an idiot from being stupid."

"I wasn't gonna use it!"

"Shut up Franky! I can't believe I know you sometimes."

"She did more than that." Calleigh corrected. "She stood directly between myself and the end of the gun."

"I knew he wouldn't shoot." she said, brushing off the experience, as if she'd just picked up milk from the store.

"Did you know the victim?" Horatio asked.

She nodded. "We both did."

"We're going to need you to come with us."

"But I..." Franky started.

"We'd _both_ be happy to go anywhere you need us to." she answered for herself and her cousin, cutting him off mid sentence.

"Are you done here?" he asked his counter part.

She nodded. "I'll take her, you can take him."

He nodded back, noticing how steady she was, for going through that.

She walked with the girl back to her Hummer. Jumping in, she immediately noticed the girl look around the inside.

"Dang! The police department has some bank!"

"We have our own grants and funding as the Crime Scene Investigation part of it."

"Oh so it's not all just Miami-Dade tax payers money then?" she said back, amusement lacing her question.

Calleigh smiled and shook her head. She really liked this girl. "Why did you jump in front of that gun for me?"

She shrugged. "Seemed the right thing to do. You were an innocent bystander doing your job and my cousin rolls up on you and tries to be even more stupid than he's ever been before. I knew he wouldn't shoot me."

"Well thank you. That took a lot of guts."

"Yeah, just don't tell anyone."

"Why not?"

"Because then people will expect me to be gutsy all the time. I have a reputation to uphold, and saving cops isn't part of my forte."

Shaking her head, she drove to the lab and noticed that the girl walked in willingly.

* * *

Putting each person inside of an interrogation room, they started the waiting game. "Hey handsome. Which one are we going to question first?"

"Probably the guy that pulled a gun on you. Did she say why she stepped in front of the gun?"

She looked at the girl. "She said it seemed like the right thing to do."

Horatio was the first one to walk into the room Ricki was in, over an hour later.

"It would seem Ms. Vernon, that your cousin in there, thinks that you had something to do with what happened this morning with Mr. Smith."

"What did happen this morning? I didn't even know something had happened until I saw the marked Hummer parked out there and heard Franky threatening your girl."

"And you just decided to see what was going on?"

"Yes sir."

"You said you knew Franky wouldn't shoot the gun?"

"I knew he wouldn't shoot me, yes sir. Thick headed as he is, I'm still family."

"So you put yourself in the path, just in case?"

"Yes sir."

He studied her closely. She was telling the truth. He could feel it. She was extremely calm to have dealt with something like that. Which told him that it wasn't something that was new to her. He didn't like that one bit. "Well that was very nice of you Ms. Vernon."

She looked around suspiciously. "Hey hold it down will ya? Someone might hear you! Then people will start expecting me to be nice all the time, and then I'll just disappoint them and...trust me, it'd just be bad all the way around."

He half smiled. "So you didn't have anything to do with Mr. Smith this morning?"

"No sir."

"How well did you know him?"

She shrugged. "Enough. My father liked to buy drugs. Well, he liked to send me to buy his drugs, but you know. What are ya gonna do?" and she shrugged again. "Anyway, Joe was like the only person he would deal with and buy from."

"Did you have a relationship with Joe?"

"Eew! No! He was like, old enough to be my dad!" she replied, appalled.

There was something about this kid that made people gravitate toward her. "So you just bought drugs?"

She nodded, and then her eyes clouded. "I just got myself into trouble didn't I?"

He studied her again. "Do you have any drugs on your person?"

She shook her head.

"You're not in here for drugs Ms. Vernon. When was the last time you purchased from Mr. Smith?"

She eyed him carefully. "Last night."

"So you, potentially were the last person to see Mr. Smith alive?"

Realizing what was going on she took a deep breath. "Awe man!" and she stood up and started pacing back and forth.

"Please, please believe me. I didn't have anything to do with Joe. I was there at around eleven thirty last night, but when I left, he was alive."

"Why don't you sit down?"

But she kept pacing. "I know how this looks! I watch tv. You think I did it! Or at least I'm a suspect. I know I haven't been the best model citizen, but I've never hurt anybody."

"I don't think you're responsible for what happened to Mr. Smith."

She let out a relieved breath. "Thank God for small miracles."

"What happened to your arm Ms. Vernon? That looks like a pretty nasty bruise."

She stopped pacing, looked at where her t-shirt sleeve had rolled up and pushed it back down, as if he was asking to see an intimate part of her. "Have you seen the neighborhood I live in? It's a rough bunch of people."

"That's not really an answer."

She shrugged and looked away. "I'm not really sure what that has to do with Joe anyway."

"Did he give you that bruise?"

She rubbed her upper arm. "No. Joe wasn't like that." she replied quietly.

She had been fond of the victim, he could see it. For whatever reason, she wasn't letting on how bad it was bothering her that he was gone. "Don't worry Ms. Vernon. We're going to find out who did this to your friend."

Glancing up at him after finally sitting down again, she breathed in through her nose and nodded, looking at the floor when he stood up.

"You're free to go. I may need to talk to you again in the future."

"Whatever you need. Joe was a good guy. He had his problems, but he was good people. He didn't deserve to be murdered in any fashion." Then she stopped and swallowed hard. "What happened to him?"

"Are you sure you want to know?" he asked, not really wanting to get into the gory details.

She closed her eyes and shook her head, before walking out of the interrogation room and into the front of the building.

She leaned against the railing that went around the steps of the lab and was startled when a hand went to her shoulder.

She straightened immediately and brushed a tear away, clearing her throat.

"Joe was shot point blank range in the head."

She couldn't stop the shaking that had set in as she did her damnedest to keep it from being too apparent. "What kind of gun?"

"We're not sure. First guess, from the damage, a nine millimeter. But we wont know until tests are finished."

She nodded.

"Do you want a lift back to your place?"

She turned to him, almost afraid to see if he was being for real. Studying him for a bit, she finally nodded. "Okay." Then as she went to follow, she glanced at him. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because, Ms. Vernon, it seems the right thing to do." and he smiled, put his sunglasses on then started down the steps.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I do not own CSI Miami or any of it's characters, affiliates...etc. This is just my imagination running with it! I hope you all enjoy!**

**Chapter 2**

**Who's Telling The Truth**

The trip was quiet and he could almost feel her sadness. "We will find whoever did this."

She nodded without looking at him. Clearing her throat again she softly replied, "I'm right here." and he stopped the vehicle. "Thanks for the ride."

"Listen, I want you to call me if you have any problems ever. Okay?" and he handed her his card.

She smiled and slipped it in her pocket next to Calleigh's. She stiffened when a voice boomed behind her and Horatio noticed it instantly.

"What the hell are you doing?"

She turned. "Nothing. He was giving me a ride home after...after..." and she noticed the officer step out of the drivers side door.

"I'm Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Miami-Dade police department."

"Police! Why are you hanging around?" then he grabbed Ricki's shoulder and spun her around. "What kind of trouble are you in?"

She didn't make a sound, but it quickly made sense, where she got the bruise from. "Excuse me, sir? She's not in any trouble. She saved one of my CSI's lives this morning."

"CSI?"

"Crime Scene Investigator."

"Dammit girl! What the hell were you doing at Joe's house?" and he slammed her against the truck causing it to rock where it sat on the road. "I told you not to go over there!" and he pushed her harder against the Hummer once again, causing her to cry out involuntarily and her head to crack against the edge of the door panel this time.

"Excuse me sir. I'm going to need you to step away from the car." and he put his hand on his holster. He took in the sight of the girl now sliding down the side of the truck, a thin trail of blood following her head down, a completely dazed look in her eyes. He pulled his weapon and aimed it at the man. "Hands in the air!"

He looked at his daughter, eyes now closed, legs folded under her as she sat on the ground, body lax against the door. "She's faking." and he took his shoe and kicked at her knee in a sweeping motion. "Get up Ricki! Quit showing out for this cop."

"Hands in the air!" he screamed.

"But she's faking!"

"Don't make me ask you again. I'd like nothing better than to use this."

"Alright! Alright, fine." and he put his hands in the air.

"Now turn around and put your hands behind your back."

He did so and Horatio put him down on his knees, pushing him face down in the ground as he cuffed him. Grabbing his cell phone he called for back up and for an ambulance. Then once he was sure that the man wasn't going anywhere, he crouched down next to the girl.

He reached his hand up to cup her face, just under her chin and lifted her head. "Ricki? Come on sweetheart. Open your eyes for me."

There was no response. He laid her on her back on the ground "Come on Ricki. Hang in there for me."

Her eyes squeezed tight and she moaned.

"That's it sweetheart. Open your eyes for me."

She opened her eyes and tried to sit up, instantly regretting the movement as her head spun and she turned over and threw up.

Horatio helped her as she got sick, then tried to sit back as straight up as possible. "Easy now."

She turned around seeing her dad. "He's going to be so mad." she whispered, fear lacing her voice. Then her hand went to her head.

"Ricki, I need you to focus on me. Can you do that?"

She stared into his blue eyes and nodded then closed her eyes. "My head hurts."

"Open your eyes sweetheart." When she did he smiled back at her. "Good girl. Hang on for me. An ambulance is coming."

"Ambulance? No. I don't...I don't want..." and she groaned as her head pounded.

He turned as Calleigh came around the corner, with Eric, ready to process. "What about if you go with Calleigh? She will stay with you."

Bleary eyes stared back at him before she finally nodded. He helped her stand and she sat down as the EMT's brought a stretcher around.

"She's going to need stitches in the back of her head and least of all she has concussion. She's thrown up once and she's in pain."

"Don't worry Mr. Caine. We'll take good care of her." the EMT assured him.

"Alright sweetheart, Calleigh's going with you okay? You take care and I'll see you later."

Closing her eyes she nodded. "Okay." and she rested as they loaded her into the ambulance and started asking her a million questions.

H stayed there to process the scene. Gripping up the man in handcuffs he turned him and crushed him against the side of his vehicle, next to where the blood started. "You like hitting people?"

The man grunted. "Some people should get hit."

"Fair enough." and he balled his fist and hit him in the side, causing him to double over in pain. "I don't care who you are, that doesn't include a teenage girl, and especially your own flesh and blood." and he pushed him against the car again before pulling him back and pushing him toward Sergeant Frank Tripp. "Get him out of here. I'll be with him shortly." then he walked back to the side of his Hummer, watching as Eric swiped the blood and processed his truck.

"Alright H. It's good to go."

He nodded. "Thanks."

* * *

He walked into the lab and into the interrogation room. "Do you own a gun Mr. Vernon?"

The man was balding and had the same slate gray colored eyes as his daughter. He sneered at the red head."I might. What's it to you?"

"It would seem, that Mr. Smith was murdered with a nine millimeter. Is the gun you own, a nine millimeter?"

He shrugged. "It's possible. Why don't you ask Ricki?"

"Why would Ricki know?"

"She shot that damn thing more than I did!"

"Where is the gun now?"

"Ask her. I'm telling you. I don't have anything to do with it!"

He thought back to what she had told him the morning before. She had been truly shaken up when he told her how Joe had been murdered. "Why do you keep telling me to ask Ricki. Didn't you send her to buy the drugs from him?"

"Buy drugs, yeah! Not sell herself!"

"What exactly do you mean by sell herself?"

"Use your imagination, cop!"

"So you knew your daughter was doing that and you didn't stop her?"

"Stop her? She's a loose cannon! You don't stop her from doing anything!"

There was no way he was talking about the same girl. Although he had to admit, he had barely known this girl. But she had sure convinced him. Well, it was time to get to the bottom of it.

He left the lab and went to the hospital. When he walked in, the girl appeared to be just waking up and he tried to keep his tone unaccusing. "Hey sweetheart. How are you feeling?"

"Sore. Still swimming if I move too fast." then she took in his expression. "Something is wrong."

H took a deep breath. "There are a few things I need for you to clean up."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay."

"We pulled your dad in for questioning, and he raised a few questions and I will just go through them one by one. Alright?"

She nodded.

"Ricki, he said I needed to ask you about the nine millimeter he owns."

"Why?"

"He said you shoot it more than he does."

"I haven't shot the nine mil in months. I've been shooting a Ruger." and then she stopped.

"Where did you get the Ruger from?"

She took a deep breath. "Joe." she finally admitted quietly.

"Why didn't you tell me about that this morning?"

"Because! No one understands. Everyone takes it the wrong way!"

"Including your father?"

"Especially my father! What did he say?"

"That you sell yourself." he admitted blatantly.

She turned away and tears started rolling down her face. "No one understands."

"Then help me understand. Help me make sense of this. Because from the looks of it, you're sitting in a pretty tough spot at the moment."

"Joe wasn't my lover. Hell I'm still a virgin! He was like a father to me. Well, you know, without the bruising, and yelling and constant threats. He taught me how to fight, how to defend myself, how to shoot a gun and to do it with accuracy. He taught me that I wasn't worthless." she said, whispering the last sentence. "I loved him. But like a child loves a parent. Not like..." and she stopped as another tear fell.

"Well he was right Ms. Vernon. You are not worthless."

She shrugged, not replying as she looked up at him.

Calleigh reached out, but she jerked her hand back. "No. I...I'm fine. Just...just leave me alone."

Horatio studied her. "What happened this morning?"

She started shaking.

"You know more than you're letting on. And if you tell me, I can help you. But if I have to find out for myself, and I will find out, it's game over."

"No one can help me. What, are you going to let me escape from my life?"

"If that's what it takes."

"Yeah. I'll believe that when I see it. Until then, I'll take my chances."

"That's kind of an irresponsible move Ms. Vernon. Would Joe want you to be safe, or on your own?"

She glanced up. "That was a low blow. Joe taught me how to take care of myself so that I didn't have to worry about ever being alone."

"Well I, am not Joe. Nor, am I your father. And I will not leave you unprotected. So I'm asking you again, what happened this morning?"

The shaking continued and she looked up with eyes that screamed fear. Fresh tears spilled over. "I was there this morning. I used to go over every morning and make sure that he took his blood pressure medicine and insulin. When I got there, I was in the kitchen when I heard him yelling at someone. I walked into the living room where they were and I heard a gunshot. I screamed, and the guy turned and looked at me through a mask, but I just froze. I couldn't do anything. He ran and I hit my knees. He was right there, and I just froze." She hadn't realized that her breathing had become heavy and that she was starting to panic, being back in that moment. "I looked at Joe, and he was tired. He told me to run. And I just...I ran. He told me to, and I did. I should have stayed! I should have stayed. This is all my fault."

Calleigh was standing beside her now, and Horatio was beside her. "Ricki? Sweetheart I want you to breathe. Take a deep breath." Her eyelids were so heavy and it was hard to breathe. She was hyperventilating and couldn't stop it. She closed her eyes and it went dark.

Horatio watched her lose consciousness as a nurse ran into the room. "What happened?"

"I was asking her about a murder and she started to panic."

She ran around and looked at the monitor. "Did she just lose consciousness?"

They both nodded. "I don't want you upsetting her again. Do you hear me?"

"It wasn't my intent to upset her in the first place." he assured her.

"Well that's fine, but in the future, I ask that you not do that again."

He nodded and looked at Calleigh. "Stay with her. I'll be back. I'm going to go find out who's telling me the truth."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I do not own CSI Miami or any of it's characters, affiliates...etc. This is just my imagination running with it! I hope you all enjoy!**

**Chapter 3**

**Keep Me Posted**

When she opened her eyes almost two hours later, she inhaled deeply and tried to sit up straight.

"Easy."

Calleigh's voice, was right beside her.

"It's alright. You're safe."

She looked at the soft green eyes before her face. Confusion spread across her own features. "Horatio was here."

She nodded. "He's checking on a few things."

"I have to go. I need to leave. He's in danger there."

"What do you mean?"

"What if the man comes back? What if he tries to..."

"Honey, honey no. Calm down Ricki. He's safe. He's got people with him and he's armed. No one is going to get him. Do you want me to call and make sure he's okay?"

She stared at her for a moment. "You're sure he's alright?"

"Absolutely. Look, I'll call him right now and just check in. Let him know you're awake. Okay?"

She nodded and watched as Calleigh dialed her phone.

"Hey H. She woke up."

"Good. Is she alright?"

"Worried about you. But otherwise seems to be alright."

"Well, I'm almost finished here. I think she's telling the truth."

"Good."

"Agreed. We need to put her into protective custody until we figure out who is doing this."

"Alright. Well, I'll let you know when she's released, if you're not already done and here."

"Sounds good."

She hung up and looked at Ricki. "He is alright. He's with my team members and is safe."

She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "So what happens now?"

"We put you into protective custody until we can figure out where and who this guy is. Do you remember anything about him?"

She thought back and started shaking again.

"Don't put yourself back there. Take a deep breath and calm down a bit okay?"

Ricki nodded and closed her eyes for a second. "He's tall and he's built. Not heavy, but built. His eyes were brown. I could see that through the mask. But that was about the extent of it. He never said anything." then she looked up at the blond, with tears filling her eyes. "I can't believe I just let him die. The only person in my life who ever gave a shit about me, and I just let him lay there and die." she whispered.

"Honey it could have been a lot worse. What if you'd been shot too? Then you wouldn't be able to help us now."

She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I was so stupid."

Calleigh touched her arm and she almost screamed as she jerked it back, clearly unable to help the reaction.

"Sorry. I...I'm sorry. I don't like..." and a shiver ran down her spine. "I'm not used to being..."

"Hey, it's okay. I was just trying to offer support."

She nodded and looked up with tear filled eyes. "I know." she replied softly. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright."

The nurse walked in and she instantly cleared her throat. "When can I get out of here?"

"Well hello to you too young lady." the portly woman said, sarcastically. "Glad to know you're feeling better."

"Well I'm not swimming every time I move my head now if that helps. When can I get out of here?"

She looked at her for a moment, trying to keep from sounding upset, because she'd seen girls like Ricki before. "I'll check with the doctor sweetie. Once he clears you, you are free to go."

Nodding, she looked at Calleigh. "Where do we go from here?"

"Well, we can put you up somewhere, or put you right in the jail."

She didn't like the sound of jail. But she wanted to be protected too. There was no telling if this guy would come after her somewhere or if he could even touch her. She'd been taught by Joe, that trusting anyone could be fatal. But she didn't like the sound of jail.

"Let me see what Horatio thinks, and we can go from there. Okay?"

She nodded.

* * *

Horatio walked into the safe house about four hours later. "How is she doing?" he asked, looking at the girl who seemed to be asleep on the couch.

His CSI took a deep breath. "She's in a rough spot H." she replied lowly.

He studied her frame. "She's got survivor's guilt, doesn't she?"

She nodded. "Bad."

"I was afraid of that." and he walked in and sat down beside where she was on the couch. Her eyes opened a little. "Hey sweetheart."

"Hey." Ricki whispered back.

"How are you feeling?"

She shrugged. "Fine I guess." she said, just a little louder.

"You don't sound too convinced."

She didn't say anything and she closed her eyes. He noticed a tear roll down and he reached out with his handkerchief and wiped it away. She opened her eyes again

Without a word, he sat there looking for a few moments. "You miss him don't you?"

Simply nodding, she closed her eyes as another tear fell.

"Do you want something to drink, something to eat?" he asked hopeful. But her head just shook back and forth as her eyes closed again. "Alright Ricki. Maybe later?"

She nodded this time and opened her eyes again. "Have you had any luck finding out who did this?"

He nodded. "We're getting there. Hopefully you won't have to be tucked away for too awful long."

"Okay."

And then almost as if being shrugged off, she turned around and faced the back of the couch. He stood up and walked back to where Calleigh was, in the kitchen of the home.

"You're right. And she's taking it hard. Try to make her eat or at least drink something a little bit later if you can. I'm going to get back out there and see if I can find out who did this to her."

She nodded and walked him to the door. "Keep me posted."

It was a few hours later when he called her and told her that they had found the man that murdered Joe. And he'd had a hard time with the fact that it had been Ricki's cousin Franky that had been the one to pull the trigger. All over a kilo of drugs that he was trying to steal so he could resell.

When she hung up the phone with him, she looked at Ricki and sat down beside where she was sitting on the couch.

"That was Horatio?"

"It was."

"They found the guy?" she asked, afraid to get too excited.

"They did. But Ricki...you need to know, it was your cousin Franky."

"What?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry honey."

"But that can't be true." she whispered. "Why?"

"Drugs."

"No." and she stood up from where she was. "This isn't right."

"Wait, you can't leave."

"Somethings wrong. I can't...this isn't right. Franky wouldn't do this!"

"He had the gun. He said he did it. Horatio wouldn't lie about something like that."

She looked at her with pleading eyes. It couldn't be true. She glanced up at the rooms to the right. "Where's the bathroom at, in this place?"

"Around the corner and to the left."

"Thanks." and she stood up and walked away. Calleigh knew that she would distance herself from it when it was said and done, but she'd flat out gone on a dead run. She wondered what could be going through her head.

It was twenty minutes later when she opened the bathroom door, to find what she'd been worried about the first few minutes in. She grabbed her phone. "Horatio. She's gone."

"What?"

"She got out the bathroom window."

"I'm on my way. She can't be far."

He was there in fifteen minutes and they were discussing where to start first. They honestly didn't have a clue where to begin.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I do not own CSI Miami or any of it's characters, affiliates...etc, nor do I own the rights to any subsequently mentioned literary works. This is just my imagination running with it! I hope you all enjoy!**

**Chapter 4**

**Shelly Silvers**

"Byers!" the guard shouted. "You've got a visitor."

"What?" the man asked. He followed the guard until he got to the main room.

The guard stepped back out dialing a number on his phone. "Lieutenant Caine?"

"Yes."

"This is Cambridge, from the jail. You told me to call you if anyone visited Byers?"

"Yes sir."

"There's a girl here. Her name is," and he flipped through the papers. "Shelly Silvers?" he said, confused as he stared at the papers.

"What does she look like?"

"Dark blond hair, light blue eyes, five foot three maybe."

"Thank you. Try to keep her there." and he hung up. "She's at the jail. Confronting Franky. Smart girl. She used the name Shelly Silvers."

"Okay?" Calleigh asked.

"Childhood poet. Shell Silverstein. Where the Sidewalk Ends."

"Oh my gosh! I love that book! But how did you..."

"She told me in the Hummer on the way back to her house this morning that it was the first book Joe ever gave her and that one thing she would grab if her house caught on fire." and he stepped on the gas.

Franky walked into the visiting room. "What do you want?" he asked, seeing his cousin there. She looked haggard and tired.

"Did you do it? Really?"

His brown eyes glared at her, before he closed them and shook his head. "You weren't supposed to be there Ricki! You were supposed to be at the house! You weren't supposed to show up until nine. You were early. Why were you early? He would have given me the blow, if you hadn't been there. He didn't want you to see it go down. I was just going to scare him."

She felt like she couldn't breathe. Her entire world was coming down around her. She stood up and ran out of the jail, and into the darkness of the night that had finally fallen. She walked for what seemed like hours until she knew what she was going to do from here.

Joe had always known what to do. And now, she wasn't going to be able to go to him. Never again could she go to him. So she went to his house. It looked abandoned, with crime scene tape all the way around it. It was hard to believe that less than a day ago, she was in this house getting his daily meds ready.

The door was open. Joe never liked for the door to be open. She walked under the tape and stepped into the house. She could see where the blood was, and where they'd marked everything, even though his body was gone.. She walked into the kitchen and put her hand gently on the pill bottle that held his blood pressure medicine. And for everything she'd been holding in, she cried.

"What am I supposed to do now Joe?" she whispered.

She walked into the bathroom and ran her hands over a sink she'd washed those hands in a million times.

She opened the cabinet above the sink and spotted it.

It was fifteen minutes later and they were still out, when Horatio grabbed his ringing phone. He didn't recognize the phone number right off, but no one called at just after midnight. "Lieutenant Caine." he answered.

"Horatio?" her voice was shaky.

"Ricki, where are you sweetheart?"

"I...I just wanted to say thank you." and she stopped, as she sniffled, trying to keep the tears back long enough. "I um...I'm sorry that Franky did that to Calleigh...and that my dad...well he tried..."

"Honey where are you?"

"It doesn't matter." her voice shook again. "I had to tell you that I really appreciate you finding who did this. And thanks for not judging me." she whispered.

"Ricki? Baby where are you?"

"You were right too. Someone who would run, instead of saving the only person that ever cared, isn't worthless. It goes way past that."

"Ricki, where are you?"

"Tell Calleigh..." and her voice started to fade. "Tell Calleigh I'm sorry." she whispered.

He heard the phone fall to the floor and he looked down at the number. Suddenly clicking, he did a u-turn in the middle of the road and hit the gas.

"Where are we going?" Calleigh asked.

"Joe Smith's. Get an ambulance out there right now. I want them at that house before we get there."

It took him under five minutes to get to the house and as he ran in, he was grateful it didn't take longer. He dropped to his knees as he found her laying there in the floor, on her side, where Joe had been found. Though this time, it was her blood that was spilled.

He reached down, grabbing her forearm, pressing his thumb into the skin past where she'd used a razor blade to slice across the artery.

Calleigh noticed all of the blood instantly and her heart cried out for the figure laying on the floor. The phone was laying on the floor and she could tell where it had been dropped from lack of strength. "I can hear the sirens. They're almost here."

Horatio looked down at the kid, her skin pale white and so cold. He could feel her pulse against his thumb, where he was trying to keep her from losing any more blood and it was rapid and thready. "Dammit. Come on Ricki! Hang in there baby."

She didn't move as he talked, reassuring her it would be alright and that she needed to hang on because she had a lot of life left to live. "You stay with me Ricki. Stay with me! Do you hear me? You stay alive!"

When the ambulance got there, her heart rate had dropped to dangerous levels and her breathing was shallow. The EMT got her ready to go and Horatio glanced down at all of the blood on his shirt and pants.

"Follow us in the Hummer." he yelled to his partner. She nodded as he crawled in the back of the ambulance.

He looked at the one man in back with them. "She is going to make it."

"We'll do the best we can, but..."

"No. No buts. She's going to make it."

When they pulled into the hospital bay, Horatio followed as far as he could before they pushed him back to work on her. Calleigh walked up behind him to hear them yell that she was going into hypovolemic shock. H knew that shock was about as bad as it got before...they called a code blue and he watched through the small window as a crash cart was rushed into room.

It was another hour before she was stabilized enough for anyone to set with her, and it was both of them that went in, though neither one cared that the nurses didn't like it. There was a recliner chair in one corner and a loose chair in the other, and each kept vigil, both refusing to leave until they knew if she was okay.

Horatio looked at the bandage around her wrist and picked up her limp hand, holding it in his. Hoping that by simply holding her hand, he could somehow will her better.

"She's so cold." Calleigh whispered.

He nodded. "Shock." and he took her small hand in both of his and blew into them, trying to warm her fingers just a little. She looked so frail. So broken. "She's got a long way to go."

A small spry nurse appeared in the doorway about an hour later. It was easy to tell, outside of her name tag, of her Latina background. She smiled sweetly. "How is she?"

"No change." H responded.

"Well believe me. In cases like this, no news is good news."

"So I've heard."

"I know hon. It doesn't help does it?" then she noticed the two of them sitting there. "She's lucky she's got people that care about her. In most cases, suicides are alone."

Horatio squeezed Ricki's hand, still in his own. "Lord knows she would probably argue that point with you."

She looked down at her. "She just needs love. She knows you're here." then she squeezed her leg just below her knee. "Don't you sweet girl?" Looking back at Calleigh she smiled. "I will be back in periodically. My name's Maria, you beep if you need anything."

They both nodded at her and went back to silence as she left.

* * *

It was almost fourteen hours before there was any movement on her part, and she squeezed fingers that were in hers.

Her slate gray eyes were a sight to see when her lids finally opened. "Hey sweetheart."

Blue eyes. Smiling face. Her eyes closed again and she didn't say anything.

"Come on Ricki. Open your eyes again baby."

She felt fingers graze her cheek and tuck her hair behind her ear. Joe used to do that to her. "Joe." she whispered.

"No sweetheart."

Her eyes opened again and tears swam. She looked down at her hand, and noticed his in hers, squeezing still.

"That's it. Come on back."

"Why?"

"Because you, don't strike me as the type to give up too quickly on anything. Even if you needed a reminder."

"People don't believe in me." she whispered.

"You had one that did."

"Yeah, and we all see how that worked out. The only person that cared is gone. That only one who ever cared..."

"Hey, right now, you have two that care. You have two people that definitely believe in you, and that expect you to make it."

"But why?" she asked again.

He studied her close. "Let me ask you, what is the real reason you jumped in front of that gun?"

Without missing a beat she answered. "Because, it really was the right thing to do. I'd already seen enough violence that morning and part of me thought...part of me thought that if I could save her...I could make up for killing Joe." and she closed her eyes as tears fled. "I was wrong." she whispered.

"Sweetheart, you have got to get that thought out of your head. You didn't kill him. He was dying anyway and he knew it. That's why he wanted you to run."

"What?"

"Honey he was fatally wounded. He only had a few minutes left. There was nothing anyone could have done. The neighbors had already called an ambulance when he told you to run."

"How do you know?"

"Because," he stated simply. "It's my job to know."

She hadn't expected that answer, and there are too many new questions arising to think about all of it. She stared at him for what seemed like hours, though it was only a few moments.

She was speechless, and he searched her eyes for the longest time. "You didn't know that Franky wouldn't shoot, did you? You stepped in front of that gun, not caring whether or not he pulled the trigger."

Fresh tears spilled over.

"Because you thought, if he shot you, you could absolve yourself of your own guilt, for running away, which is something any person could have done in your given situation."

"But it wasn't any person." she said softly. "It was me."

"Yes, sweetheart. It was you." he replied squeezing her hand. "And if it had been anyone else, he wouldn't have cared one way or the other. But he did care about you. He's been around the block a few times. He knew what it would be like for you if you got caught there, and he didn't want you going through that. That is why he told you to run."

She closed her eyes, not wanting to think about it, but she realized in an instant, he was right. Joe had sent her away on purpose. He had done it to protect her. In his last moments, he had protected her.

Maria popped back up in the room a few minutes later. "How is our girl doing today?" she said quietly. Her soft brown eyes smiled as she did and softened when she saw Ricki was awake. "You're awake! How are you sweetie?"

"Tired." she replied softly.

"That is completely normal. You're finally starting to get your color back. I'm glad about that. Are you thirsty?"

She shook her head.

"That's alright. Probably because you've been hooked up to an IV since you got here, but I want you to eat or drink something soon, alright?"

She nodded.

"Well sweetie, I've got other patients, you beep me if you need anything."

Nodding again, she looked to the left and saw Calleigh in the chair in the corner, covered with a blanket.

"She just fell asleep an hour ago. She's been here the whole time."

"I don't understand."

"Don't understand what?"

"You don't even know me. Why are you sticking around and sitting here with me?"

"Honey for a little while, we didn't even know if you were going to make it."

She looked down at her wrist. "I...I'm sorry." she whispered.

"Don't be. You risked your life for one of my people, for whatever reason. That makes you about as close to family as it comes."

Family. Was he serious? Bringing back to mind that he still held her hand, she wondered if it was too much to think he was.

"You told me on the phone that I was right. That you were beyond worthless. What makes your life, so much less...than mine? Or Calleigh's?"

"Because. You do something with your lives. You make smart decisions. You contribute something good into society."

"So do you." Calleigh let in that she was awake herself.

Turning toward her she blinked. "What do I contribute?"

"Honey you've barely started living yet. You have a lot left to give before you should even think about checking out. Don't ever sell yourself short."

"But I have nothing. I've never had anything but Joe. And now he's gone."

"And now you have me and Horatio. But you have worth. You stepped in front of a gun for me! You saved my life! Doesn't that count for anything?"

She shook her head and looked away. "I didn't do anything. I just put myself between you just in case. You deserved better."

"And so do you."

Unable to cry any longer she rested back and closed her eyes.

* * *

It was four days before she was finally released from the hospital and on her way to a rehabilitation center.

"They're making me go." she said as the red head approached.

"I know they are. But Calleigh and I are going to be with you every step of the way. And when you get out, we'll be there too."

She nodded. "They said I have a long way to go."

He nodded. "You do. But it's not impossible. Remember that. And we're here if you need anything, even to talk."

"Thanks. I really do appreciate you not judging me. I wasn't lying about that."

"What's to judge Ms. Vernon? You did what you had to, to survive. No one can fault you for that. Besides, it's my place to look for facts. Not to judge the reasons for those facts. In this job, you learn first thing to trust, but always verify. Because you never know what's going to transpire when you assume."

For the first time in a long time, she smiled at him. "I like that. Thank you."

"I look forward to seeing your progress, Ricki. And I mean real progress. You'll be alright, and we, will be waiting."


End file.
